Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 46 No. 3, 2007.
Case report
Acroangiodermatitis (Pseudo-Kaposi Sarcoma) as Part of Chronic Venous Insufficiency
Vedrana Bulat
Liborija Lugović
Mirna Šitum
Marija Buljan
Jana Pušić
Lada Bradić
Abstract
Acroangiodermatitis (synonym, pseudo-Kaposi sarcoma) is a benign, uncommon, acquired disease of blood vessels that commonly affects elderly male patients, and manifests as purple-colored patches, plaques or nodules, mostly localized on lower extremities. Pseudo-Kaposi sarcoma is usually associated with chronic venous insufficiency, but it is also found in patients with arteriovenous malformations, hemodialysis patients with iatrogenic arteriovenous shunts, paralyzed limbs and amputation stumps. Generally, acroangiodermatitis in patients with chronic venous insufficiency produces skin lesions located on the dorsa of the feet, hallux and second toe, or on the medial aspect of lower extremities. Acroangiodermatitis may resemble Kaposi sarcoma, however, in comparison with Kaposi sarcoma, acroangiodermatitis is characterized by benign, marked proliferation of blood vessels, slow-progressive course, and absence of neoplastic spindle-shaped cells forming clefts and vascular channels on histopathologic analysis. Since skin lesions are remarkably similar to Kaposi sarcoma in their clinical appearance, it is important to perform skin biopsy and immunohistochemistry to rule out Kaposi sarcoma. Topical corticosteroids may sometimes prove useful in early macular lesions, but the use of compressive bandages and dermatologic follow up are recommended.
Keywords
Acrodermatitis - diagnosis; Skin diseases - vascular - diagnosis; Foot diseases - diagnosis; Foot diseases - pathology; Venous
Hrčak ID:
18267
URI
Publication date:
3.9.2007.
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